There’s a saying that speaks to sleeping giants awakening, this arousal is intended to speak to an ability to galvanize and affect change.

The giant has awakened with the emergence of an across the board tribal unity joined by military veterans to confront the issues at Standing Rock – the times they are a changin’ as Dylan sang.

A change with an air of inevitability about it – nations disenfranchised for centuries and vets whose service was predicated upon a vow to uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, many of whom have experienced a disenfranchisement of their own.

And that is exactly what is occurring at Standing Rock, the defense of not only Constitutional rights but treaties long ignored and long violated.

This article speaks to the ability of former military men and women of conscience and the potential they have to strengthen movements and raise national awareness – that’s a good thing, and going forward has numerous implications.

Every indigenous person knows the history of our people and the military – it has been a festering wound for generations, for the moment at least at Standing Rock a new chapter is being written.

Old animosities pale in a unified defense of what is right, what is just, based on a common thread of shared humanity – a diverse voice speaking to a need to address inequities and declaring as Howard Beale did that “I am a human being god damn it”.

A voice the heavy hand of corporate interests, sweetheart deals, and an onslaught of corrupt legislation has attempted to stifle.

Human beings who have the right to prevail over the darkness of corporate greed whether they live in an American gulag with holes in their shoes or wear the olive drab of former military service.

This unity has been one of the finest moments in American history – it is something to build upon going forward.

All people need to understand that silence is consent, all people need to nurture their own humanity and that of others.

In the previous blog I touched on the subject of Annie Mae Pictou Aquash and warrior women among the nations, which brings me to another example, Sioux Z of the Dineh.

A water protector at Standing Rock acting essentially in the role of first responder or EMT.

Non violent, non confrontational, but willing to assist the wounded and attempt to instill calm, yet purposely targeted by “ authorities” taking a tear gas canister directly in her face that has resulted in permanent vision impairment to the point of blindness.

Any arrests, any inquiries by authorities or governmental agency?

Of course not, because you see Sioux Z in exercising the Constitution right of freedom of assembly and free speech, not to mention treaties that the Supreme once upon a time declared are the “supreme law of the land”Court broke “the law”.

And what law exactly was that?

The law in whatever perverted interpretation is necessary to insure that might is right and the will of the people pales in comparison to the will of corporations and the politicians who reside in their pockets.

The second video features some “patriots” who I’m sure wave the flag at every opportunity and go on about “ god given rights” and “make America great” – they are of course convinced these rights only apply to the likes of ones such as themselves.

Now it’s easy to say things on the net, everybody can be a tough guy, and I have never made any claim throughout the entirety of this blogs existence to that affect, so take it as you will, but had this “patriot” confronted me in such a manner one of us would have been eating the mask he hid behind.

For many the words woman warrior conjure up an image of Annie Mae Pictou Aquash, and deservedly so.

It isn’t a stretch to image that if Annie were alive even as a grandmother she would be at Standing Rock fighting for the rights of indigenous people.

Warrior women weren’t uncommon among the nations, and there are some legendary ones , a great many can be found at the DAPL protest – I believe Annie provided a model in this modern era.

Dennis Banks has said he’s never seen such a gathering involving representatives from so many nations as the one at Standing Rock – of course he’s correct in saying so, one of the few times he’s ever been.

But the backstory is AIM wasn’t a unifier, it was divisive, and the leadership a gathering of thugs intent on murder and mayhem – a leadership locked in a rictus of squabbling over the spoils and who received the most air time.

I’ve watched a couple of Bank$ made for media videos of his appearances at Standing Rock, listened to his disjointed ramblings and attempts to resurrect AIM of yesteryear as THE entity, the awakening from which all things sprang.

It’s a pathetic performance, no less so than attempts to weave Leonard Peltier and the bloody rag banner of AIM into the equation.

Standing Rock is about the common welfare of the nations – Bank$, AIM, etal was about the personal welfare, as in self enrichment, of the leadership.

Bank$ has played on his ndness for decades now – from the “warrior” Good Day to Die to the current made for public consumption wise elder and “spiritual leader”.

Amazingly it’s all worked for him, from ordering underlings to dispose of bodies at Wounded Knee 2 to being able to identify the body of a murdered woman days before anyone else could without actually being there to view the remains.

Bank$ isn’t going to change, he isn’t going to switch horses in midstream when the one he’s ridden has stood him in good stead – he’s found his groove as they say thanks to a pandering media and a misinformed public with romantic delusions.

It wasn’t but a few short years ago I stated my belief that Russell Means was a snitch by the very definition AIM employed to direct at others – more than a few people were aghast, surely I was a hater, a sellout, and undoubtedly a fed.

Well the proof was in the pudding as they say and Means was exposed as a snitch – but I’ve also said I believe the entire AIM leadership and minions like Dave Hill also rolled over when it served them.

You don’t walk from the federal and state charges like Hill did just because they like you – you don’t serve a mere eighteen months in prison when charged and convicted as a major drug dealer as Clyde Bellecourt did just because they like you, and you sure as hell don’t get caught on tape ordering someone to dispose of a body or are able to identify the remains of a murdered woman without being there and never face a single related charge just because they like you.

Born under a lucky star? I don’t think so.

Water is life, women are life givers – in my opinion Bank$ resume precludes him speaking about either, he should confine his snake oil show to foreign countries where they still want to believe his particular brand of bs.

In wrapping this blog up I want to address something else – the forgiveness ceremony presided over by Leonard Crow Dog – I’m all for forgiveness when warranted, and I believe it was the right thing to do with the vets who came to Standing Rock – the issue I have is Crow dog forgiving anyone when he hasn’t atoned for his role as the grave keeper of those AIM murdered at WK2, for his role in contributing to the murder of Annie Mae Pictou Aquash by labeling her a snitch, for the corruption and marketing of culture which has become a cottage industry for him, for the drunken ceremonies he held at “paradise”, and for the manner in which he went about “forgiving”.

And that is to sit as though on a throne and lay his hand on a kneeling person as though he’s a Pope granting absolution or offering a blessing.

There wasn’t a vet there that isn’t head and shoulders a better person than Crow Dog is, and I’d give odds there were more than a few vets who are more sincere and more spiritually inclined than he.

Crying in the final analysis is a release mechanism whether it be the result of pain, disappointment, emotional distress, or even joy.

Men historically aren’t supposed to cry, and when another man does it can be a little unsettling, as men we may become confused and not know how to react – different story for us when it’s a woman or a child.

The exception may be when a woman cries out of joy, I admit I’m still a little bewildered by that but won’t hesitate to comfort.

The manner in which individuals respond to events are varied, as diverse I suppose as people are, but I believe women are more attuned in many instances and more emotionally sensitive – ultimately a good thing, a part of the balance.

It’s both difficult and humbling to see tears flowing from a grandfather’s eyes when learning that the Army Corp of Engineers is withholding a permit for ETP to continue, understandable though being aware of his age and what he has experienced in his lifetime.

At the same time an emotional moment to witness a grandmother gently wipe the tears from his eyes and realize that it’s alright for a man, any man, especially one of grandfathers stature to succumb to the release of tears.

Some things are difficult to overcome, this sense of “real” men don’t cry, that “warriors” are stoic and capable of enduring without flinching, without batting an eye or displaying emotions.

I think it’s important for men to be strong, to stiffen in the face of adversity – I also believe that is an expectation of families and women.

And while I believe myself to be a strong person in the face of adversity I have never claimed to be anything other than a human being, one of the people.

I shed enough tears at an early age that led me to adopt a personal vow that it would never happen again, in hindsight adopting such a position was shortsighted as we never know what the next day will bring, whether it be pain, disappointment, or joy.

I don’t believe I’ll ever be a person who cries easily – traits we’ve acquired in life aren’t always easy to overcome, but life is or should be an ongoing learning process and I’ve come to understand there are more things I need to learn than I thought there were.

And grandfather? Never stood taller in my eyes then when coming to realize the depth of his love for the nations, the love for his grandchildren whose inheritance is the future – this is a man, a real man in every sense of the word.

The Army Corp of Engineers has denied the easement for DAPL and stated they will conduct a full environmental study – a victory in my opinion that was facilitated in part by the arrival of vets and their construction projects of a barracks, mess hall, and infirmary.

It is my hope that the connection is both recognized and remembered – that the respect due to not only the nations protesters but the vets as well will be forthcoming.

This is a victory for humanity, for every man, woman, and child in this country, this hemisphere, who take a stand for human dignity, human rights, the environment, and against corporate greed.

Energy Transfer Partners is under the gun down now per their contractual agreement to begin delivering their product near the end of January, and I suspect financial investors will be divesting themselves of any holdings.

That’s a good thing, as the only thing corporations understand and respond to is the flow of revenue, hit them in the pocketbook and they’ll squeal like a stuck pig.

Of course the shadow of Trump remains and I’ve no doubt he’ll resort to his usual lies and exaggerations, but even so the dynamic has changed.

As a people, as nations, our voice after five hundred plus years and countless broken treaties has been heard, and it’s about damn time.

Media literacy, sounds a little confusing doesn’t it as I’m sure every person who can read and write considers themselves literate, and we all are to varying degrees.

But the disparity exists in what people want to believe rather than what is actually real.

One need only look at the countless conspiracy theories that prevail on the internet – everything from the rouge planet Nibiru hurtling towards planet earth that the powers that be are aware of but conspiring to keep humanity in the dark about the looming disaster to the Kennedy assassination, the lunar landing, depopulation through vaccinations, 911, and even Trump’s mindless assertion that millions of illegals voted in the election.

The lunar landing memes are perhaps the most hilarious as conspiracy theorists ask why hasn’t there been another and claim aliens on the dark side were discovered and ran the astronauts away.

They ignore the fact that no less than six manned landings have occurred, not much to be accomplished by yet another, budgetary cuts, and resources being devoted to other projects like a possible Mars landing.

What these “theories” all have in common is the lack of single shred of hard core verifiable evidence – not a problem though for the believers as such theories only require utterance and a negative proof.

Negative proof assumes the convoluted path of if a conspiracy can’t be substantiated then that alone is proof that a conspiracy exists….. part of the “cover up”.

If that sounds childish that’s because it is, and as Matt Bai points out in the below linked article the media’s culpability is obvious.

Trust in the media is at an all time low, and for good reason as they promote and thrive on controversy and sensationalism in addition to following the political ideology of ownership.

One would think “alternative” news sources provide the remedy, and to a point they can and are capable of doing so, but even a cursory scan of such sites is enough to understand that some follow the same formula as the very ones they will rail about and for some of the same reasons – ownership and the battle for viewers.

I find it funny that some of these sites act like the traveling medicine shows of the past selling their various elixirs, offering branded hats and articles of attire – but hey, they’re trying to make a buck and that’s what it’s about isn’t it?

What’s most telling of all are the “theories” issued accompanied by a doomsday date – a point in time that arrives and passes sans the predicted calamity – remember 2012?

And once the date passes what do the oracles do?

Nothing – not so much as a my bad, they just move on to yet another “theory” or “prophecy” and the believers dutifully follow along.

You would think as many times as they wind up with egg on their face they would slink away in embarrassment, but embarrassment isn’t part of the equation and the attention span of the believers is apparently egregiously short lived.

The media can and should be a valuable tool in the dissemination of fact, too often though it merely becomes the weapon of choice – a weapon that not only misleads and victimizes the truth but the public as well.

A little skepticism and that proverbial grain of salt aren’t a bad idea, no less so than making an effort to do the math.